From the laboratory bench to the patient’s
bedside, the process of ‘translating’ ideas, insights, and discoveries generated
through basic scientific inquiry to the treatment or prevention of human disease.

As part of their ongoing efforts to provide community services, the CHORI Administrative team organized a warm coat drive for the holidays. Throughout September and October, CHORI’s administrative staff rallied CHORI employees to donate winter coats.

“We decided that we wanted to do something community service oriented,” explains Brigid Roy, CHORI’s IRB administrative coordinator. “After a few people raised the idea of donating coats, we did some research on where to begin.”

That research turned up an organization called One Warm Coat, which is designed specifically to connect groups of people who want to donate coats with organizations that need coats.

Through the easy-to-use warm coat website, the CHORI administrative team was able to connect with the City of Oakland, which was planning on donating coats at their annual Thanksgiving dinner for families in need. In addition, the website provided all the tools the CHORI administrative staff needed to run the drive, from guidebooks to promotional materials.

“The website was fabulous,” explains Ms. Roy. “It’s something even a small group of individuals could do. There are some groups that only need 10 coats, or some that will take as many coats as they can get. They make it very easy to organize a coat drive.”

The results at CHORI were overwhelming.

“We just had a great response,” says Ms. Roy. “The people at CHORI brought in over 70 coats in great condition, and very stylish, too – none of these were leftovers from the 70s. It was a fabulous effort by everyone at CHORI.”

And thanks to those efforts, Ms. Roy was able to pack up 5 boxes of coats to drop off with the City of Oakland on Thanksgiving Day.

“It’s exciting to see CHORI’s administrative team leading an effort to serve our community,” says Kathleen Hogue Gonzalez, CHORI’s Vice President, and head of Research Administration. “The support from CHORI’s scientific and technical staff has been outstanding. To quote my Assistant, Karen Catanese, “What a Team! It may be corny but it’s true, Together Everyone Achieves More!”